U
pstate New York can be an inhospitable place for Happy Endings, in which case a staving off of rigor mortis might be the next best thing. Blotto’s first EP, released on their own Blotto Records because, well, you try getting a record executive to watch your act in Albany, shows some genuine signs of life. By life, I mean a sense of humor, and by signs, I mean the occasional chuckle. “I Wanna Be A Lifeguard” isn’t laugh-out-loud funny, merely smirk-worthy, but when you consider how few rock bands are actually funny (Sparks and, er, maybe The B-52s), Blotto gets a gold star for even trying. That paean to those EMTs of the Sea is followed by the even funnier “(We Are) The Nowtones,” a very clever sendup of bar bands and, thus, themselves. As I said, real signs of life, especially the chemistry between Blanche Blotto and the Boys. The last two tracks are less interesting, a showcase for Blanche on the oldie “Stop: In The Name of Love” and a tale from the darkside of rock & roll, “Bud... Is After Us.” Hello! did get the industry’s attention, even while it pegged Blotto as a novelty act. The novelty wore off (it always does), but in the annals of DIY recordings this is something of a small fairy tale.